The word 'critical" has three meanings which are dangerous, important, and disapproving. The purpose of this blog is to examine important or over-looked cultural, political, artistic, or historical issues of our time. Also, this blog is intended to be educational.

Friday, January 13, 2017

The Knights Templar

OnJanuary 13, 1128, Pope Honorius II granted a papal sanction to the
military order known as the Knights Templar declaring it to be an army of God.

Led by the Frenchman Hugues de Payens, the
Knights Templar organization was founded in 1118. Its self-imposed mission was
to protect Christian pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land during the
Crusades, the series of military expeditions aimed at defeating Muslims in
Palestine.

Hugues de Payens

The
Templars took their name from the location of their headquarters, at
Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.

Temple Mount

For a while, the Templars had only nine members,
mostly due to their rigid rules. In addition to having noble birth, the knights
were required to take strict vows of poverty, obedience and chastity. In 1127,
new promotional efforts convinced many more noblemen to join the order,
gradually increasing its size and influence.

While the individual knights were not allowed
to own property, there was no such restriction on the organization as a whole,
and over the years many rich Christians gave gifts of land and other valuables
to support the Knights Templar. By the time the Crusades ended unsuccessfully
in the early 14th century, the order had grown extremely wealthy provoking the
jealousy of both religious and secular powers.

In 1307, King Philip IV of France and Pope
Clement V combined to take down the Knights Templar, arresting the grand
master, Jacques de Molay, on charges of heresy, sacrilege and Satanism.

King Philip IV of France

Pope Clement V

Jacques de Molay

Under
torture, Molay and other leading Templars confessed and were eventually burned
at the stake.

Pope Clement dissolved the Templars in 1312, assigning their property
and monetary assets to a rival order, the Knights Hospitalers. In fact, though,
Philip and his English counterpart, King Edward II, claimed most of the wealth
after banning the organization from their respective countries.

King Edward II

The modern-day Catholic Church has admitted
that the persecution of the Knights Templar was unjustified and claimed that
Pope Clement was pressured by secular rulers to dissolve the order. Over the
centuries, myths and legends about the Templars have grown, including the
belief that they may have discovered holy relics at Temple Mount, including the
Holy Grail, the Ark of the Covenant or parts of the cross from Christ’s
crucifixion. The imagined secrets of the Templars have inspired various books
and movies, including the blockbuster novel and film The Da VinciCode.